Cody Zeller has been a solid NBA player. But can he lift the Charlotte Hornets to elite status? He could if….
Cody Zeller came into the league with high expectations, picked fourth overall in the 2013 NBA draft. He played well enough his rookie year–six points and four rebounds per game–to make the NBA All-Rookie team.
Courtesy: The Hoop Doctors
Since then Zeller has become one of the top screen percentage players among NBA’s bigs–with Hornets’ star player, Kemba Walker, the prime beneficiary.
His court presence shows, too. During the 2016-17 season, the Hornets had a record of 33-29 with Zeller on the court and 3-17 with him on the bench.
Zeller is also a great hustler. Night after night, Zeller dives after loose balls and fights for rebounds. That hustle has made Zeller a fan favorite.
But despite those contributions, Zeller’s statistics aren’t impressive. In four seasons following his rookie year, Zeller is averaging 8.6 points and 6.1 assists a game, while shooting 52% from the field.
To move to the next level, Zeller has to address two deficiencies.
First, he lacks a three-point shot. His career three-point percentage is an abysmal 25%. Because of poor shooting, Steve Clifford and the Hornets staff need to always have a reliable “stretch four” on the floor. Frank Kaminsky and Spencer Hawes play that role. And Zeller’s long-range woes mean that the Hornets can’t team him with Dwight Howard and Willy Hernangomez, players that have the same deficiency.
The second issue has to do with Zeller’s limited aggressiveness. While he’s definitely a team-oriented player, he lacks aggressiveness on the offensive end. Rather than make strong moves to the basket, Zeller’s preference is to pass the ball in order to set up “a better look.” That’s a primary reason why opposing defenses don’t look out and care for Zeller on the offensive end.
Those two issues–lack of a solid three-point shot and offensive aggressiveness near the hoop–are the reasons why Zeller is a seven-point-a-night player rather than a fifteen-point-a-night star.
Because Howard has solidified his role as the Hornets’ starting center, Zeller has been relegated to backup status. But if Zeller could make the two improvements suggested here, I predict that the Howard-Zeller combination would be the best center rotation in the entire NBA.
Cody Zeller needs to up his game.
